I have to wonder if Doug is making any calls about a CF given Carlos' injury. An OF of Davis/Parra/Braun is certainly not bad, and Schafer and Herrera in reserve is not either...while the backups lack power, not a lot of guys with pop available that can play CF.

Schafer not in Nashville's lineup tonight, I assume he has already boarded a plane to Chicago...heck, he might be there already. Weisenburger, one of the catchers who might be considered for the "just in case" duty is playing. We'll see what pitchers are used later...Wooten went an inning yesterday, so I figure he's done and on his way as well.

I just noticed the Sounds played two yesterday, and Schafer nor Jason Rogers played in the 2nd game, and Matt Pagnozzi caught game one as well. Add Mike Blazek to the mix, and that's probably much of the first group coming up.

Caleb Gindl is still there, but might get a buzz if Gomez has to miss more than a day or two. "His wrist popped" sounds rather negative to me.

BUMP: Will continue to update Broxton news at the bottom of this post until he end of the day.

Brewers acquire Jon Broxton from Reds, per Rosenthal.

Updated below, newest stuff at the bottom.

Broxton signed to a $9M deal for next season, his option for 2016 now becomes mutual. Huge trade for the Crew, to get one of the best set up men in the game for the last month. He may end up filling the need for the '15 closer as well, as $9M is, needless to say, a lot to pay for middle relief.

I was thinking this morning, it would not surprise me at all if Doug picked up a player before the deadline...but I was thinking of a 1B, as I felt enough of them would have cleared waivers to make a minor upgrade. I did not see this coming.

Have to see if they had to give a lot, or if the Reds were happy to get out from that contract. Doug has been trying to land Jon since he was in LA, a half decade ago. Big guy, throws hard.

Two PTBNL go to the Reds. I am not sure of this, but I'm almost positive PTBNL's cannot be on the 40 man. Considering the salary he is owed, I doubt they will be top prospects in the system.

Broxton has been equally dominant versus LH and RH batters this season, and about equal throughout his career. He has gone more than three outs once this season. Appears almost certain he will pitch the 8th and KRod the 9th, with Smith/Jeffress/et al moving to the 6th and 7th.

Broxton will join the team tomorrow in Chicago, so no roster move. They had a spot open on the 40 man, so technically, I believe he is on the 40 but not the 25.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the offseason, as KRod and the Brewers seem to have a good relationship, and despite past (and 2014) success, no one seems at all willing to let Frankie close, or at least they haven't since 2011. As the story goes, he waited to see if a MIL offer would come in, even though he did not expect to close.

Broxton has struggled a bit in August, but most of it seems to be BAbip related, .379 have found a hole, after about .200 prior...luck evens out, and .200 is unsustainable. Only 48 innings, so it's doubtful he's tired. With the rosters expanding, I doubt any of the top 4-5 relievers pitch down more than a run in September.

Adam reports the Brewers did win a waiver claim for Broxton on
Friday, and had until noon today to make a deal. Players will be named
before end of season.

I would guess the Crew waited out the Reds, and due to CIN's salary issues (they pay Votto, Phillips, Bruce, Bailey, and Chapman about $58M in '15; and $75M in '16).

Brewers and Reds have one player agreed on, 2nd on a list.

Reds' GM says players they receive will be guys that can help in the next year or two, indicating AA/AAA is likely.

If a "Player to Be Named Later" (PTBNL) is part of a trade, the PTBNL
cannot be on an MLB 25-man roster (MLB Active List) at any time starting
when the trade is executed up until the PTBNL is announced. Clubs have
six months to agree on a PTBNL. A cash payment (typically $50,000 for
trades involving players on the 40-man roster) can be substituted for a
PTBNL if no agreement can be reached within six months.

So players cannot be on the 25 man roster if they are PTBNL, but can be on the 40. Based on the description that they are close, my guess would be guys that may be out of options...Ariel Pena jumps to mind.

Looks like I was incorrect about Jungmann not having to be protected on the 40 man this offseason. He was signed in 2011, but did not pitch due to high innings in college. That season still counts, however, I was just thinking he needed to pitch in four seasons.

Another way of looking at it...he played in '11...and pitched 0 frames. I'm sure he did work on the side and the like.

The Brewers have been affiliated with the Class AAA Nashville Sounds
since the 2006 season, and stayed there despite the team playing in
outdated Greer Stadium, a 37-year-old fossil that will be put out of its
misery after this season. The Sounds' new ownership finally succeeded
in putting together a public-private financing plan to build a new
ballpark in time for the 2015 season.

The Sounds played their final game at Greer on Wednesday night, losing to Sacramento, 8-5.After
sticking with the Sounds all that time as they fought to get a new
facility, the Brewers now face the possibility of being kicked to the
curb with their player development contract expiring after the 2014
season. One popular rumor had the Brewers moving their Class AAA
affiliate all the way out to Fresno, Calif.

"Fresno is not a place we are looking to go to," Melvin said.

Melvin is still awaiting word from Nashville owner Frank Ward as to his intentions for a new contract."It's up to
that ballclub, not us," Melvin said. "We don't make that decision. We've
made every indication we want to stay there. We've been there a number
of years now and played under certain conditions that weren't the best.

"We like the
city; the city has treated us well. We love the new ownership.... We've
had good conversations. I talked to the owner three weeks ago and he
said he just wants to wait. He's busy building the new ballpark."--JS

Doug is not one to spout off, so his opinion of Fresno speaks loudly. That said, if Fresno and MIL are the only dancers left without a partner for 2015-16, they'll be stuck with each other. If that's the case, it won't matter what Doug said, for that matter.

Nice game by Fiers tonight, just gave up a couple hits on balls right down the middle, but still pitched well, and ate up seven innings, which was needed.

Brewers ran into a hot team, whole staff pitching nicely...Peavey only gave up a couple hard hit balls, and had several swings and misses on pitches a foot plus outside. That momentum can end quickly, as it begins with the SP tomorrow, as Baumgartner was stellar the other night, so is hopefully due for a correction.

Those of you that are still up after the Brewers' game, switch it over to The Tennis Channel, who has the US Open evening sessions over the holiday weekend. Great tennis, great setting. You won't know many of the players, as CBS plucks all the big names for the afternoon, but it's incredible tennis.

This is why gay players...and guys that are not "normal" (like Tebow) have to be quite a bit better than everyone else. No one wants to have to spend a lot of time explaining why a 7th round draft pick was released. The old media is its own worse enemy.

On a related note, Austen Lane, who grew up in Iola and played a few season for the Jags, was released by the Bears. I worked with his mom for a while years ago. But, since he's a heterosexual, it's not being reported at all.:) Good luck to him, I'm sure he'll get looked at as players go down to injury.

Perfect example of a game they wish happened after 9/1...after Wily, Marco probably would have went an inning, and the last 4 would have been mopped up by call ups. The whole starting lineup would have been off since the 6th or 7th.

Because they are a contender this season, the Brewers may have a larger group of September callups when rosters expand Monday.

"We talked about it again today," Roenicke said. "You don't want to
have so many that it's uncomfortable, but you don't want to be short
when you come down to whether it's extra innings or now, because
everyone has callups, the matchups in the bullpens become a lot [more
frequent] and you use more guys."--MLB.com

It's just exhausting being correct all the time.:) Actually, I might be low. Might well be 5-6 on 9/1 and then a couple more after the AAA season ends...though their last game is 9/1, barring the Sounds making the playoffs, which no one wants.

Looking at Roenicke's statement, Brent Leach, the Sounds sole LH pitcher, might be a longshot consideration. He has been solid versus lefty hitters, and if no one steps forward, Ron might begin using Jeffress and Smith in the 8th, and everyone to get to that point. You could, in theory, see Wooten, Duke, Kintzler, and Tom G to get through the 7th, since they'll likely have at least 11 relievers in the 'pen.

Blazek, Figaro, and Wooten are all on the 40, and would seemingly be up. I would assume Schafer and Jason Rogers will be too. Wang? I don't know. He obviously would pitch only if up or down by a bunch, but he did seem to be well liked. Since he's going to the AFL, I would guess not.

Others? Plenty of possibilities, but not sure if Ariel Pena is healthy or not, as he was DL'd last week, but in the minors, that could just be for rest or because his rotation spot was not going to be used. Caleb Gindl had a subpar season, but still was passable (750 OPS) versus RHP. Hunter Morris is the only other healthy player on the 40, and he was mediocre as well.

Nonroster players? Other than Leach above, goodness, you could make an argument several would be considered...though realistically, not for long. Falu was taken off the 40, so if he was going to return, they likely would not have removed him. A plus defender at SS and elsewhere would be nice to have, and Irving is a switch hitter...though not an offensive force. Hector Gomez is a former SS prospect known for his glove, on and off the 40 before, but has not played in ten days due to injury. Matt Clark was signed when Morris got hurt, and had a fine year at 1B, a lefty power bat. Matt Pagnozzi and Adam Weisenburger are the catchers, Matt is a journeyman, Adam a 34th round pick who has already outdid his organizational soldier predicted future, and does have a decent OBP. Eugenio Velez has had several solid ofensive years in AAA, and while he has played almost everywhere over the years, has basically only played 2B and LF in '14. Jeremy Hermida had some good years in the majors. Sean Halton can contribute. Pete Orr is a capable lefty bat, able to play 2B/3B/OF, and has a 800+ OPS vs. RHP, after years of spending part of the season in the bigs. Jose de la Torre was superb much of the season, but has a 7.80 ERA in August. Dustin Molleken supposedly throws 95+ consistently, but has yet to put it together, but has a 4ish ERA over the past two years and a great K/9 ratio, but you can't teach velocity. Finally, Taylor Jungmann had a breakout season at AAA, but the former #1 pick does not have to be put on the 40 until after next season, so I doubt he'll be brought up to pitch a few low leverage innings.

EDIT: Hit "update," and I paused the TV to go take a quick shower and get a snack. When I returned, Ed had emailed to remind me Jay Jackson was dealt for late in the season and throws hard/was a former prospect.

It's still early, but have reason to believe Henry Ellenson is a slight
lean to Marquette and Diamond Stone a slight lean to Wisconsin.--WisBBYearbook

Ellenson does not have the Badgers in his final three, and Stone is a top five national player, almost certain to be a one and done guy. Would be by far the best Ryan recruit ever...I think Dekker was no higher than top 50 nationally.

Palin can't be correct, so Obama takes a break from the driving range and studies up on his thesaurus.

For those new to the game, Sarah predicted this on the 2008 campaign trail...Barack said "No one could have seen this coming"...a few days after it happened. Just common sense conservatives. The Northeast Ivy Leaguers all missed it...must not have been in the NY Times.

This is such a poorly researched pile of dung, by a pathetic excuse of a man. Moore has written such drivel about the Brewers, and when his obvious errors were pointed out in the comments, he chastised the commenters. He's a wannabee who simply confuses his dream world with reality.

Look at the final paragraph, which can best be described as pure fiction, masquerading as fact:

The question, then, isn't when women will earn a spot on the diamond
next to men. They have been earning those spots for over 100 years. The
question is when the men barring the gates will finally stand aside and
let them in.

So, if I am reading this properly, MLB has somehow been taking all these highly qualified female baseball players, and artificially keeping them off rosters. You know, because the NFL, NBA, and other sports are 15-20% female...aren't they?

No, they are not. Because in sports in which men and women both compete...tennis and golf jump to mind. no one even remotely thinks the best female player would be a top player on the other tour. Chris Evert, when asked, said her brother beat her all time when she was the #1 ranked women's player in the world, and he was a club pro, not ranked in the top 1000 men in the world. Serena Williams, who serves harder than some male players, might be able to win a game or two a set versus a top 100 men's player, but as of yet, no woman has ever played the game who could be competitive. They simply are not built the same...that's what makes them, you know, a different gender.

What a clown, and what a joke of a piece.

In reality, women will someday play in the majors, and the NFL, probably as a specialist of some sort...a lefty reliever or placekicker or punter seems very likely for the debut.In the NBA, I can imagine a woman coming off the bench as a sharpshooter firing 3's...heck, the most unathletic male players do that...but they still have to play defense at times.

Good to see Ron blasting these inept clods. The article did not even mention his strike call in the 7th inning, which was so bad, Herrera didn't cover 2B and the runner trying to steal stopped running, both knowing it was a ball.

They are simply horrific. And they're getting far worse. Many nights, you have no idea whether a pitch in the 9th inning is a strike, even though you've seen 250 pitches by then. That fool last night might as well have been flipping a coin.

I believe the reason for this is simple...the low minors are for development. No one, not the team, nor the players, give more than a casual head nod to winning. Appel may well have been working on his 3rd or 4th best pitch, throwing nothing but fastballs, or any of a dozen things to explain his poor stats in high A ball.

The fact anyone pays attention to the results is as mystifying as the fact anyone watches pro wrestling.

Want to know where racial tension and cultural divide come from? Since Obama took office, 794 law enforcement officers have fallen in the line of duty; with no special recognition from the White House. A man robs a convenience store and assaults a cop, the white House sends three representatives to his funeral.--Law Enforcement Today

I did not see what happened, but when in doubt, I trust the cop, and not the criminal.

Considering David Beckham's group has failed to land a place to play in downtown Miami, and is said to be concerned only with a party atmosphere/locale, this seems like a perfect match.

Eventually, the expansion cities will all be given out, and the real fight will be for which city gets Chivas, which is right now the 2nd team in LA, and draws less than half of any other team. Because after Chivas gets assigned, that means there is unlikely to be any more MLS expansion until a decade from now or so.

Since I nailed the Parra prediction, I'll make another...I think the Crew will bring up 5-6 players when rosters expand...though some maybe not until the regular season ends for Nashville. Given that the Sounds are going to be an LA affiliate, Doug has no reason to not take whoever he wants...as he said last time he was on TV, they can move players up from other teams so they are not short.

Most folks are only predicting the Crew will bring up 2-3 guys, because "that's what thery have done in the past."

1. Well, obviously Garza will be activated, so there's one they are too simple to think about.

2. When they look in the past, they are only looking at 9/1 callups, not after the AAA season has ended. One clown said they did not bring up a single pitcher in '11, while in reality Fiers came up to protect the bullpen. None of the "core arms"...KRod, Smith, Duke, Jeffress, probably not even Nelson; will see any usage at all if they are behind, barring the need for work, of course.

3. Wooten and Schafer are almost guarantees. Garza, of course. That's three right there, and a 3rd C, utility INF, power bat off the bench, and blowout pitching depth have not been addressed at all.

As for 40 man spots, they have one empty, and could easily create another by moving Bianchi to the 60 day DL, as he appears done for the season. Heck, if they do not plan to call up Wang, he could go on the 60 day DL as well. Jason Rogers is already on the 40, and had a nice season, making himself into a legit prospect. Blazek and Figaro are as well, and had up and down campaigns. A 3rd C or a defense first utility INF would seem to be the most likely 40 man add ons.

I never watched The Sopranos, but I was the only person I know of who thought the "dream sequence" at the end of Six Feet Under was not the actual future, but merely just a possibility.

I watched an episode of 6FU a couple weeks ago, as it's on Amazon Prime and we have that for this year at least. Sure miss it. So well written, brilliant dark comedy. It makes all but a handful of shows on the air embarrassed to be compared to it.

I must admit, I make quite a few predictions on here, and I don't think I've ever been as correct as I was when I said "Parra will probably play once a series in LF versus a tough RHP and back up CF/RF."

Elian in there again too. Even a couple hits can't make Ron forget Jean's defense.

Segura just jumped out of the way without catching the toss from Gennett. I don't think I've ever seen that in the majors. He then made a poor throw to 1B, making Reynolds apply the tag.

One has to wonder if Jean is playing hurt or simply mentally struggling from any of a variety of things. His lack of offense since June of 2013 has been well noted, but has been overlooked for the most part since his defense has remained solid, and very few SS's hit anyway.

Herrera is not a SS by any means (Scooter would probably look more comfortable at SS than Elian, though Herrera has made almost every single play), but it's difficult to believe that much of the coaching staff is not suggesting he get the nod almost every day. Roenicke has played Segura through his ups and downs, and then sat him two straight days...that's probably equal to a week to some guys. Sadly, he hasn't hit now in 15 months, and the "eye test" at SS is now about the same as his defensive metrics have always been...below average (-3.6 UZR for his career).

EDIT: I'm still convinced Jean is playing at 75% or so, and has been for ages. His SB numbers are very telling:

April-June 2013: 24 SB, 3 CS
since then: 36 SB, 18 CS

Much of his offense was directly related to his abnormal amount of infield hits as well. I'm not sure if he has some sort of nagging injury, or if he has never healed up, or what the deal is. His speed has gone from blazing to slightly above average, and he's a very young player.

As I have said often over the years, a sudden decrease in production is almost always injury related. They deny and deny, and then, DL, or often, surgery.

Of course, anything that allowed him to keep playing everyday would have healed in the offseason. At some point, it starts to sound like a conspiracy theory...was hurt, reinjured in spring training, but still able to play almost every day.

They should always take an extra week to make sure they're 100%, or at least 85-90%. They always come back too early. I'm not sure if it's just he man stuff or if they truly feel pretty good until they start playing.

The goofy thing about it is, once he returned, he's been playing nine innings every game. Senseless, and very shortsighted.

Caleb Gindl having a down season overall, but still has a near 800 OPS versus RHP. He's out of options after this campaign, so may well be removed from the 40 at some point, unless the braintrust think he is above Schafer, which given Logan's D, is unlikely.

On a related note, the Rambling dog slept through the night Saturday for the first time in about a year...we went to bed about 1:30, and he got up about 9:15. I got up to pee when it was still dark...I'd guess about 5, and he sniffed to see if I gave him a treat, but never got up.

I find it hard to believe milk is above corn, fries, and so on, especially considering how hot it often is, the fact milk does not digest quickly, and many are lactose intolerant. Must be a tradition thing.

You have to credit the Brewers for never letting things like this go public. You do have to wonder what in the world anyone is thinking if they are associated with a ballclub talking about injuries with the media.

Wang pitching well in minors, no one will say if he'll come up in September. I would assume they'll go with Schafer, 3-4 pitchers to eat up innings in low leverage situations, and maybe a couple non roster guys, if someone is a match to what they need.

Whenever teams trade a major league player and receive prospects plus major league player(s) in return, the team that gets 3-4 players instead of one are simply a huge mathematical favorite to win that trade.

As I have said, the umpires care way too much about making the umpire on the field correct. That was an obvious safe call live and on replay. The fact they decided that they "could not tell" is incompetence and obviously a stacked deck.

They simply could not do worse if they brought in guys off the street. That makes you wonder why they even bother with replay, if no one cares enough to get the call correct.

Looks like the Brewers will end up out west with their AAA team, per this report, as it appears likely they will be in Albuquerque or Fresno. Neither is very close, but, of course, only 25% of the time will both be at home. However, both play mainly out west, so it would be difficult to get help to MIL or any city east of MIL if an injury occurs in a night game. While Fresno is out of the ordinary for the PCL west and is a pitcher's park, almost all the others are Coors like hitting bandboxes, meaning a good pitcher will have a 4 or 4.50 ERA. It's often difficult for a staff to convince pitchers, younger pitchers especially, to throw strikes in such an environment, hence, development may be a bit more difficult.

That said, there isn't a whole lot they can do, as no AAA team looks at a Brewers' affiliation as being sexy or a dream come true.

Am I the only person that has no idea why that was an error? If Segura hangs back, and makes the easy play, the runner is easily safe. That's why Jean charges in hard, and that's why it should be a hit.

That's just a scorer with not even a casual understanding of the game.

Al,Long time reader, and admitted casual on all things you write about that are not Brewers related. A couple questions, one, how did you know that ISIS, which I pronounced as is is when you began discussing them, was a radical extremist terrorist group that hates Jews, and our government did not? They have quietly backed away of late, but why would they ever support them? Second, nothing drives me nuts faster than scoreboard watching early in the season. You don't seem to be caught up with it either. I think this actually drives people away, as it's tough enough to be a fan of a sport than plays every day for six months. MC

I think it's kind of silly to worry about other teams, because, as I often have said, 88+ wins is a good baseline on what will get you in the playoffs. The other reason is one Craig Counsell talked about the other day...often, two teams are playing each other, and you don't know who to root for. Say tonight the Cards are playing the Braves...in theory, I'd think ATL would be the team to root for. However, if SL wins 18 of 20, and the Brewers win 10...the Cards are running away with the division, and the Crew might be fighting ATL for a wildcard spot, or home field...and think how dumb you'll feel having cheered for them.

As for ISIS, and Syrian rebels before them, Obama always favors groups that are not in power...the movie 2016 Obama's America touched on this. It has led him down the road of destruction numerous times, and many feel it leads back to his father being against whoever was in power because...they were in power, so they must be evil. It took minimal research to realize Israel, our long time ally and long time very strong defensive military presence, was doing nothing except returning fire against ISIS, who use children as human shields, and then cry and moan that children were killed. Israel, when challenged, goes after their enemies with ruthless destruction, the way war should be fought...to win, with minimal loss to your soldiers.

The USA has become incredibly wussified...trying to win conflicts only by dropping bombs, with little or no boots on the ground, to try and minimize casualties, both of our own and of the enemy, especially of civilians. One little problem...it doesn't work. If you tell your troops to leave churches and schools be, something tends to happen...enemy combatants use churches and schools as hiding spots, weapons depots, and places to launch attacks and sniper fire. There is an old adage of war, "kill them all and let God sort them out."

Is that a bit cold in today's world? Maybe it is. Know what's colder? The fact that our military works long hours, far away from home, for far less than many people make pushing papers; while other people, envious of our freedoms and wealth, try to kill them. And, that for some reason, we keep putting fictional rules on how they destroy the enemy, which we still want them to do, but, you know, do it politely and courteously.

Win without mercy. We should be taking lessons from Israel, and not supporting terrorists trying to kill them.

We still have not had a 90 degree day in the Wausau area this summer. We are huge fans of this, of course. When we were watching the weather for tired people (9PM) earlier, the weather guy went on and on saying how hot and humid it was going to be this weekend, especially Sunday...numerous mentions of need the AC.

The forecast? 87 on one station, 85 on another.

I'm sure those folks living in a jungle shack on the equator feel sorry for us.

My laptop is in the Rambling son's repair shop. The screen just goes black, though the computer stays on. If he can't find a cause, we see the "most basic" laptop at Best Buy is down to $229...it's been $249-299 the past few years, with $149-199 being used as a "doorbuster" price.

MLB upholds Giants protest of "tarp no work" game. Will resume in bottom of 5th.

Seriously, they should probably do this will all games. There's nothing stopping a team like the Brewers from saying the roof is stuck open if a downpour erupts up one in the 9th, and the tarp just can't get on the infield fast enough.

Many Gord Ash quotes. Second time in a week he has said the Brewers have their own version of WAR that they use...looking back, that's probably why they felt comfortable giving Gomez his extension before he ever hit.

There seems to be just a pair of teams that are still not using metrics to speak of, and the Twins and DBacks results seem to show it. MIN especially seems extremely shortsighted and goofy...an example is Vance Worley, who they made the centerpiece of the Ben Revere trade, handled his injury shortened 2013 clumsily, as they do with almost all injuries, often admitting months later that a player has been suffering from but "playing through" an injury only after they are forced to go on the DL and have been wholly ineffective for much of the campaign. So, after being hurt for much of '13, MIN was said to be "unhappy" with Worley's conditioning/attitude/lack of grit in spring training and gave up on the 26 year old, trading him for cash.

He has regained his form despite his refusal to "just some dirt on it", miraculously.

Absolute disgrace last night at Wrigley Field. Ending a 2-0 game in the 5th inning because the grounds crew, at best, did a amateurish job covering the field...pitiful.

I said years ago that all new ballparks should have to have a roof of some kind, retractable or not, as it is ridiculous to have the technology and not use it. Sadly, we have had an entire generation of new stadiums built, and almost none are covered.

It's why the economy has struggled too, as very successful people buy boats, RV's, and jewelry. The others are like me, and consider it a "luxury" to order extra tarter sauce at Checker's and get charged a dime a sandwich.

Feeling bad, a little bird got stuck in our suet feeder this afternoon, and despite the fact he seems fine, he won't fly away...I was hoping he was just dizzy and tired, but he's been sitting on the deck for over an hour now, eating seeds and walking around clumsily. I picked him up, and he just flew back down to the deck.

Of course, we have to protect him from the Rambling dog, whose greatest thrill in life is chasing birds...I still recall a couple years ago, a bird hit the glass door, and was woozy...I ended up prying him out of the Rambling dog's mouth, and in amidst a flurry of feathers, flew away.

Haudricourt sees the Brewers tendering a contract to Gerardo Parra, who is eligible for arbitration for the final time this offseason. The 27-year-old outfielder, acquired by the Brewers at the Trade Deadline, is earning $4.85MM this season.--MLBTR

I don't, unless they see Braun moving to 1B or missing significant time with injury. Parra will make about $6M next year, far more then the Crew wants to pay a reserve, and probably more than they hope to pay their entire bench next season.

While I hope Aramis was pulled solely for rest, I doubt it's true. Likely something minor, but he's not sitting on the bench either. Probably getting treatment and hoping the 48+ hours off will do him good.

I think that's why church attendance is falling so, people are tired of the negative reinforcement and the continuing theme of being told they need to donate more money (which in itself is another negative). The only churches growing in the USA are the non denominational, very relaxed model, many of which don't even ask for money, but rather simply let it be known there is a collection box on the premises.

It's like a form of contrarian thinking...and guess what? It works.

Before I get emails, I know the Catholic church is growing rapidly, however, that growth is almost exclusively in poor, backwards nations. It has declined rapidly in the USA, so much so, that fewer Catholics are in church on Sunday than were a half century ago, despite population doubling.

I have often mentioned that I enjoy Joel Osteen, and DVR him weekly. Heck, I'm listening to his last book on CD right now in the car, because he's positive, funny, and enjoyable. He jokes in one chapter about when he met his wife, she was a member of a cult congregation that believes they are the chosen few and that everyone else is a bunch of cretins that do it wrong. He says we won't know the answers until it's too late to tell everyone else, but he chooses to support everyone...be all inclusive...blacks and whites, gays and straights, Longhorns and Aggies (and if you know Texas, that's serious business).

As long as we're talking about AAA, I keep hearing people wondering what C will come up when rosters expand...well, given that Elian Herrera is a pretty competent catcher, given he started his career behind the plate, I'm not sure they will bother. That said, if they do, Matt Pagnozzi seems to be picking up the majority of the playing time in Nashville, and can be easily dumped after the season is complete. Any prospect would have to be optioned off the 40 and clear waivers...kinda messy and unnecessary, in my view.

Taylor Jungmann picks up his 11th win of the season. He should still have 2-3 starts remaining, and due to low pitch counts, a rule of thumb is that 10 minor league wins equals 15 major league wins. He doesn't have a high ceiling, but he is looking more and more like a future rotation member.

Brewers have signed RHP Billy Buckner and assigned him to Nashville. He takes the spot vacated by Heckathorn's DL placement.--Brewers

Estrada would get a spot in the rotation if one came up, and Ariel Pena is on the 40 and has pitched decently, and better in the 2nd half. Hence, I assume Buckner is purely for roster depth in Nashville.

Anything to keep your mind off how sinfully inept their foreign and domestic policy has been. Remember, a couple months ago, Russia shot down a commercial airliner, and the US has yet to even say they shouldn't do that, never mind issue sanctions.

We live in a world which laughs at us, formerly the world's most powerful nation, now reduced to apologizing for...saving the world.

The Rambling dog just slid off the big pillow he was lying on, landing on his side, and was stuck between the pillow and the TV stand.

A younger dog would have found a way to wiggle out of this predicament, but at 18 1/2, he gave up after about fifteen seconds, looked at me, and put his head down on the floor, looking pitiful. The Rambling wife happened by, and after laughing a bit, assisted him out of his helpless state.

Now Segura is going to be PH for. Banged up middle infield. Jean could easily have broken a bone in his hand or wrist, that's as bad as getting hit by a pitch, maybe worse, as he did not have the bat for protection.

EDIT: The replay looks like it may have got him in the palm, which is far better than the fingers.

I just saw someone suggest that the umpire at the review center be forced to make the call without knowing what the call on the field was, as this would eliminate the bias and old boy network that obviously exists, as the umps protect each other.

No good news on any injured Brewers' pitcher. Lohse's next turn will be skipped. Henderson and Thornburg both done for season, Jim likely to have shoulder surgery, Tyler having a platelet rich plasma injection to help strengthen a "weak" UCL.

President Obama walks into a local bank in Chicago to cash a check.
He is surrounded by Secret Service agents. As he approaches the cashier
he says, "Good morning Ma'am, could you please cash this check for me?" Cashier: "It would be my pleasure sir. Could you please show me your ID?"

Obama:
"Truthfully, I did not bring my ID with me as I didn't think there was
any need to. I am President Barack Obama, the President of the United
States of AMERICA !!!!" Cashier: "Yes sir, I know who you
are, but with all the regulations and monitoring of the banks because of
9/11, impostors, forgers, money laundering, and bad mortgage
underwriting not to mention requirements of the Dodd/Frank legislation,
etc., I must insist on seeing ID." Obama: “Just ask anyone here at the bank who I am and they will tell you. Everybody knows who I am." Cashier: "I am sorry Mr. President but these are the bank rules and I must follow them." Obama: "I am urging you, please, to cash this check. I need to buy a gift for Michelle for Valentine’s Day" Cashier:
"Look Mr. President, here is an example of what we can do. One day,
Tiger Woods came into one of our bank branches without ID. To prove he
was Tiger Woods he pulled out his putter and made a beautiful shot
across the bank into a coffee cup. With that shot we knew him to be
Tiger Woods and cashed his check.” “Another time, Andre Agassi came
into the same place without ID. He pulled out his tennis racquet and
made a fabulous shot where as the tennis ball landed in a coffee cup.
With that shot we cashed his check. So, Mr. President, what can you do to prove that it is you, and only you, as the President of the United States?" Obama:
Obama stands there thinking, and thinking, and finally says, "Honestly,
my mind is a total blank...there is nothing that comes to my mind. I
can't think of a single thing. I have absolutely no idea what to do and I
don’t have a clue.” Cashier: "Will that be large or small bills, Mr. President?

I have long said a cost effective way of getting a look at a bunch of college seniors would be to add a team to a short season A league (New York Penn or Northwest) and stock it with college seniors, mostly signed as undrafted free agents. Give 25 guys $2-5K to sign and throw them out on the field. You'd have a group of college all stars that were a step slow, maybe did not have a true position, or that throws 88 instead of 90+. But for that $100K, you probably find at least 3-4 guys that would develop into AA/AAA level players, and some would wind up in the big leagues, most likely as reserves and relievers, but still, as cheap role players.

Herrera has just been spectacular this past month. He made a bad throw today, not sure if it slipped or what, it wasn't just a run of the mill wide toss or throw in the dirt, it was twenty feet over Overbay's head.

Bad timing too, as if that had happened during Fiers' time on the mound, it wouldn't have made any difference.

Would have been interesting to see Axford get to the Crew...he has not had a terrible season, but has been very wild, 6+ BB's per 9 IP. John is up and down, but is capable of being lights out. Doug tends to prefer the consistent and unspectacular, but as we know, loves velocity.

Axford has also been throwing his slider far more than in the past, and three mph harder too. Gotta wonder if that has led to less control. His velocity is 1-2 mph off his peak of his best years too.

Quick thoughts about a couple emails upset I used the term "killing babies."

I remain pro choice, up until the general time a baby is considered viable, for simplicity sakes, I would say six months along. I am not a fan of later term abortion. While I don't necessarily like any abortion, I understand it, and to be honest, until the child can live on their own, it is up to the woman who it is living off of. And, at the very heart of my beliefs is my core...whenever possible, err on the side of freedom. If technology someday allows us to grow a child in a heated chamber, we won't have an excuse for abortion. That day ain't today.

But, let's be honest folks, that's exactly what we're saying. You can make yourself feel less guilty all you want by "terminating a pregnancy." That said, you're fooling no one but yourself.

The transformation has probably already started, it's just most folks have not noticed it yet. Those games in April count, but the changes have already been implemented, especially with the Cubs' wave of prospects starting to impress.

I can't really say I disagree with anything Walsh said. Williams had every right to do what he did, and probably was suffering from incredible sadness and depression.

As I have talked about, as an amateur futurist, I have often said in 500 years, there will be "end of life centers" where people go, fill out legal forms, be forced to watch videos of what will happen, and will be injected much like an old dog or cat is today.

Have to see if MIL sends Fiers down after tomorrow's game, as a 5th SP won't be needed for almost two weeks, with a pair of off days next week. Good opportunity to bring up another reliever or even a another bat for the bench, perhaps a power or speed guy for specific subbing.

Or, they might just choose to give the rotation extra days of rest. Nothing wrong with that either.

Heh. I always link to stuff like that, I always glance at it, but I don't know what I've looking for. They open for the 30th straight year on the road. That is not a coincidence, as the team always wants their first home game to be on a Friday or Saturday night, and the league always opens on Tuesday or Wednesday.

EDIT: 19 of the 41 home games are on a Friday night, Saturday night, or Sunday afternoon, which is about as good as you can do unless the commissioner used to own the team.

{I don't know if the Brewers get special favors or not, but I know other teams claim they do. A few years ago, MIL played the Cubs twice in April, and both times at Wrigley Field. At a season ticket holder event, a fan complained about so many April home games, in the cold and damp conditions, and supposedly a Cubs' person said one of the two Brewers' series was supposed to be at Miller Park, but the Brewers did not want that, and that got shifted to Chicago, with MIL getting a series in June. Said it paid to have friends in high places.}

That said, I'm sure every team hates April games and wants summer ones, and they likely balance them out pretty evenly. And considering the Cubs had to have an off day on Sunday this year because they did not want a home game to fall on the same day as a "pride" parade, anything is possible.

EDIT: Did not even noticed they play a game in London, on a Thursday afternoon (our time) in January, they play on Saturday night, and then in London on Thursday, and then off until Monday, MLK Jr. Day. That will cause them to play a lot of back to back games and 3 games in 4 nights the rest of the season, but it will be like having a pair of all star breaks.

I would not be a contrarian if people were not almost always wrong. I wish Mills the best of luck, and he is probably just as good as many teams 6th or 7th best SP. That said, guys that are 29 that top out at about 88 mph are not the answer to any question.

Minor league gurus keep insisting the Cubs have no pitching in the minors.

Too bad that kid tonight is already in the majors, I guess. :)

Sometimes, I do wonder if they're ever correct. The Crew was ranked very low last season, bottom five by most, and has graduated Davis, Gennett, and Nelson...I wonder if any organization has had three such quality players step up in the past 365 days, plus a couple weeks.

Now, of course, they're rated even lower, because those three that no one respected are no longer in the minors...the old "not only is the food awful, but the portions are too small" way of thinking.

Theo is a year or two from having a perennial 90+ win team in that decrepit, old historic ballpark. Some will be surprised, but they shouldn't be.

Counsell was correct, by the way...those innings the bullpen was putting in early in the season was a fluke, caused by the extra inning games in April and all those bottom the ninths they had to pitch. They have now pitched the 3rd fewest in the NL, but the story stays the same...they must be tired. The irony is, take a lot at the difference in a player who hits .300 the first month and finishes up at .250, and compare it to the guy who hits .200 and finishes up at .250...totally different, even though they ended up the same place. That's what you get following the old media...lazy, often incoherent half truths.

The facts? Well above average offense, above average SP. Average or very close to it bullpen. Very good baserunning team, 2nd in MLB. average to slightly above in defense, 10th in UZR, 13th in DRS.

He might actually be a factor in whether or not the Crew retains Ramirez next season. Kid has played himself into being a true prospect, albeit not sure if he fits in as a 1B/3B/LF reserve, as a platoon guy, or even as an everyday player. He has a 800+ OPS versus both RHP and LHP this season, so he's not just a lefty masher.

It's hard to believe how bad teams are at knowing when to challenge. Many teams seem to challenge "if it's close," which is just shortsighted. Unless it was a blatant error, challenging with two outs and a man on 2B is just dumb, as the expected runs in that situation is lower than no one on, no one out.

Nice job of selling it by Scooter too. People overlook how important that is. I recall once in softball, I was playing SS, and there was a smash base hit to RF. The guy out there had a cannon for an arm, so I hustled over to cover 2B, and the throw was rocketed to me. I stretched like a 1B to the ball, and caught it perfectly, as the ball "popped" in my glove like a Chapman fastball would.

The thing is, the runner from 1B was a young guy, and despite the fact he didn't slide, beat the throw. In fact, I took my foot off the bag to reach for the ball, and I removed my foot just as the runner's foot landed on the bag. So, not only was the runner safe, he was safe for two reasons. But, it was reasonably close, and I think the pop of the glove made it seem like he should be out (I swear, that echo lasted a couple seconds). Me, one of limited talent, but, as they say, gritty and scrappy, not only cheated off the bag and caught it so the glove would pop, but after I caught it, I immediately started trotting toward the bench, as if it was a very obvious out call. I was several steps into my jog, and several teammates were yelling celebrations and congrats to the RF. I was past the mound and almost to the 3B line before I heard the umpire say, in a hushed tone, like he was in a library, "Out?"

There was a few "I think he beat that" and "Ah, he was safe" statements from the opposing team, but I think the fact several seconds had passed, and we were already acting as if it was a done deal made it difficult to even consider a safe call.

The irony is, when I got to the bench, the entire team insisted the runner was out, and it hadn't even been that close. No one ever even mentioned my foot. I think they were so impressed by the velocity of the throw, they just assumed he must be out. Me, I never told a soul, well, no one on the team.

I was also very good at "blocking" the base on a close play putting my foot either right in front of it or on the half closest to 1B, often the runner would step on top of the base to avoid my foot...once in a great while, be unable to stop or slip off the wet base, and I would apply the tag. These are the benefits of not being gifted.

He was a funny, funny man; but was a mighty nasty fella, especially towards W, in his later years. Sounds like he was probably suffering from depression, or something along those lines.

EDIT: On that note, please do not be afraid to seek medical help if you are depressed or sad. I work with seniors and it is astounding how many of them, who should be enjoying the best years of their life, take meds every day to assist them. It's some sort of chemical imbalance, I can't say I fully "get it," but they do help. I've worked with people who have attempted suicide. Call a friend for a ride, take a bus, drive to a clinic or ER, but talk to someone. If nothing else, I'm sure 911 will be happy to give you a number of someone who will be happy to talk to you.

I always remember reading about people who had tried to commit suicide, but failed. Almost all of them had jumped from several stories and survived, but were now disabled or severely maimed as a result. The author of the article asked the researcher what he was most surprised by, and with no hesitation, the gent said it was that almost every single person answered one question exactly the same...in response to "What were you thinking as you fell?" the response was consistently..."This is really stupid."

As I always say, it's too bad that thought doesn't go through their head just before they jumped.

Al,Do you think the Brewers might bring up Johnny Davis in September just to PR? Hank

I had never heard of Davis, so I figured he must be at AA or below. Turns out he is in Appleton, after just being drafted last summer. Here's a piece on him, and supposedly, he is mighty fast.

However, as for him being called up, no. He doesn't have to be protected on the 40 man until after the '16 campaign...but would be if used in MIL. Besides that, while he does have 29 SB's, he's been caught 18 times, so he would not be much of an asset, yet at least.

Josh Prince, who was up a bit last year, has spent the year in Huntsville, playing mostly OF and is 35/44 in steals...if they were to use a Mel Stocker type this season, he would likely be the guy. He would be taken off the 40 after the season, as despite being versatile and speedy, Prince has not shown to be worthy of a AAA spot, never mind the majors.

Why are his college records sealed? How did he pay for college, given he was a drug using high school kid who supposedly had poor grades get into two Ivy League schools.

I maintain he claimed to be Kenyan on his college apps and likely got scholarships and grants because of it. But I can't prove it, because he's hiding...something...because he's never told the truth in his life.

Watching Joel Osteen on my DVR. They put a crawl on the bottom this week that said starting in September you can listen to their weekly services on Sirius radio. I'm sure many people will sign up just to listen, as Sirius is not that expensive at all...$10 a month.

The Tigers did not make any moves to replace Sanchez and Soria, leaving
their bullpen short for Sunday's series finale against the Blue Jays.
Closer Joe Nathan
has appeared in both games at Toronto so far, getting his sixth blown
save Saturday. Detroit will add two players before Monday's game at
Pittsburgh.--ESPN

I assumed they were unable to get them to TOR in time, and ended up playing 19 innings. But when I checked, Detroit's AAA team is in Toledo, and were at home both yesterday and today. Heck, they could rented a car and made it in five hours, per Mapquest.
Planning, or a lack of planning, like that is kind of sad.

Chicken is all ready to go on the grill (and in the oven, as the Rambling son prefers shake and bake, because he loves carbs as much as I avoid them). Waiting for the Rambling wife to wake up from her nap...I think she laid down at 2.

I married a woman six years younger than myself, but she naps like a 50 year old.

I forgot to include the baserunning metric. To be honest, it's a lot like the shifts...those that fail to see the positives are too caught up in second guessing and not really paying attention. Sadly, that's about 75% of the Brewers' bloggers...

Remember a week ago, when a significant part of the fan base wondered why Garza was taken out? Those same ones are the ones arguing shifts do not work, and that taking a 90/10 or 80/20 chance is not worthwhile...they simply do not believe in math, or common sense. Or, are just so grumpy they will complain about anything.

Another good comparison is those who complain about the 3B coach a lot. With a pair of outs, the 3B coach should send the runner even if he'll get thrown out 60% of the time...as the next batter is far more likely to get out than reach base. It's why "the book" says to hit on 16 when the dealer has a face card showing...even though you will bust 62% of the time.

Don't argue with math. You ain't gonna win.

8/10/2014 05:10:00 PM

These are the good old days. Some folks are just too busy wishing the streets were paved with gold to enjoy the good times.

Whatever strikes me as
interesting, and serious Milwaukee Brewers thoughts. If you are a believer
in respecting OBP, throwing strikes, and keeping the ball in the park,
you may have found the place you've been searching for. I believe in low taxes, small government, and am not afraid to be labeled patriotic. If you are interested in sausage race results, walk up music, or professional wrestling, you may wish to click elsewhere.

I'm happy to pay taxes to help the helpless. I don't like paying taxes to help the clueless. Look at the Occupy movement...I'm forced to pay taxes to help those whose plight I delight in.--Dennis Miller

If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, and your life will be brief.--President Trump

Never have lives less lived been more chronicled.--Dennis Miller

I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.--Mad Dog Mattis

I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.--Thomas Sowell